Hikawa Maria
is Iona's older sister. She was first mentioned in episode 13, but seen in episode 21. Her alter ego is . Personality Maria is described as a kind, friendly and courageous girl who always wants to protect everyone. She gives people encouragement and she is admired by many of them. According to Glasan, Maria, when accepting to become a Cure, was known to be the strongest Pretty Cure, having a mighty, but gentle heart. Appearance As a civilian, she has dark gray hair that looks nearly similar to Iona's and smoky-purple eyes. She wore a light purple dress and black sandals. As Cure Tender, she has indigo hair in a loose ponytail with a white and gold heart ornament for her hair. Her uniform is similar to Cure Fortune's, with a black vest lined in gold on top of a white ruffled blouse. The collar is purple, and beneath it is a gold heart emblem with a pale gold butterfly shaped bow attached to it. White ruffles line the bottom of the vest, and sewn to the back is a large white butterfly wing-shaped bow. Her skirt is straightened to look like a pencil skirt, with the bottom sticking up, and she gains white sleeves and a pair of white boots that match Cure Fortune's. While under the influence of Queen Mirage, her outfit gets slight modifications. Most of the white parts of her outfit are now black, and the heart on her hair accessory has turned into a circle. Her front bow is now darker and she has elaborate butterfly-like wings on her back. Her hair retains the same style, but her eyes are red. History History as a Pretty Cure A long time ago, she protected Miyo from a Saiark attack, which had inspired her to create the show Pretty Cure Weekly. One night, she battled against Phantom, with young Iona watching them. When he attacked Iona, Tender stepped in to take the hit and protect her. Before she was sealed in a mirror, she gave Iona her PreChanMirror. Phantom did not know that Iona was Tender's sister until he picked up her PreChanMirror after defeating her. He added that Tender's kindness led to her downfall. Being brainwashed In episode 37, it was revealed that Cure Tender was freed, though she had been brainwashed by Queen Mirage. She appears before the Cures by freeing Oresky, who was about to become purified by the Happiness Big Bang attack. Once she steps out of the ensuing cloud of smoke, all of the Cures, Cure Fortune in particular, were very shocked. In the Pretty Cure Graveyard, Mirage freed Maria and controlled her, giving her dark powers. During the next episode, she battled against the Cures, easily beating them, even managing to overcome their Innocent Forms. All the while, Cure Fortune kept trying to get to her, but failed most of the time, as she was too deep under Mirage's influence. Every time her control over Tender would slip, Mirage would strengthen it. Just as Tender is about to kill her sister, she stops as she sees a vision of Iona in place of Fortune, which breaks the control temporarily. Mirage then brainwashes her once more, much to Fortune's devastation. However, those feelings awakened the Shining Make Dresser and allowed the Cures to use Innocent Purification to finally free Tender from Mirage's control completely. Going to North America In episode 39, Maria tells Blue, and later the others, that she is going to America to help the other Pretty Cures and to see her parents. At first, Iona does not want her to go, wanting her to stay and join the Happiness Charge Pretty Cures, but Maria had already made her decision, even after dueling. Soon after, Iona understands her sister's choice and the next morning, Maria leaves. Before she did, she tells Iona that the Cures were strong enough to handle everything without her, and that they could overcome anything if they stick together. Iona promises to protect the peace of Pikarigaoka. In episode 43, Maria as Cure Tender, is seen fighting against a Saiark while trying to protect North America from its attacks. Returning to Pikarigaoka to Save the Cures In episode 46, Cure Tender returned to defend the Happiness Charge Cures against one of Red's Saiarks. The Cures were nearly defeated by a brainwashed Seiji and they, especially Megumi, were afraid that they may not save him and defeat Red, but she, along with the other International Cures, encourge them to keep fighting. With that, they transformed again to battle the Saiark. During the fight, Tender performed a combination attack with Fortune. As the Cures fly off to Red's planet, she wishes them good luck and is confident that they could save the world. Relationships *[[Hikawa Iona|'Hikawa Iona']]: Her younger sister. When she went missing, Iona began to grieve and plans to defeat Phantom to avenge her. Maria proved to be protective of her as she took an attack from Phantom intended for Iona. Iona also said that Maria was very powerful and popular with a strong heart. In episode 38, Iona had to save Maria, who was under the control of Queen Mirage. Throughout the battle, she tries to make Maria remember that she was her sister and that she saved her from Phantom's attack. After a fierce battle, Iona and the rest of the Cures freed Maria using Innocent Purification and the sisters shared a tearful reunion after the battle ended. * [[Glasan|'Glasan']]: 'Not much is known about their relationship. But Glasan seems to know and even understand her. Also, she admires Cure Tender a lot. Glasan is most likely her old partner, as Iona took over Maria's powers. * 'Phantom: 'Phantom has defeated her and trapped her into a mirror. He said that among the Cures he had faced, she is the strongest. Cure Tender is Maria's alter ego. As Glasan and Iona described, she is powerful and has a strong heart. She used her PreChanMirror to transform, which was later taken by Iona. In episode 37, she was turned into Dark Tender by Queen Mirage. She was completely different from her true self. She was very loyal to Queen Mirage and also very powerful, even stronger than Phantom, as she broke up Happiness Big Bang with ease, and even fought the Cures in their Innocent Form. However she was still reached by Fortune's feelings, and then be purified with Innocent Purification. Despite having no LovePreBrace or item like Cure Honey and Cure Fortune (after episode 22), Cure Tender is capable of performing her attacks without any of those. Attacks |-|Finishers= * is the first finisher that Cure Tender uses, debuting in episode 39. Etymology : Hi (氷) means "Ice" and kawa (川) means "River". Together, Hikawa (氷川) is "glacier". has many translations. In Latin it can mean "wished for child" or "star of the sea". Despite the name's non-Japanese origin, it has decent popularity as a girl's name in Japan. Trivia * She shares her first name with Kasugano Maria and Hojo Maria. * In her evil form, her outfit shares some similarities to Unlovely and Queen Mirage, implying the butterfly motif is Queen Mirage's (who gave Dark Tender and Unlovely their powers) or Red's motif (as he ultimately controlled Mirage). Gallery Category:Happiness Charge Pretty Cure! Category:Minor characters